It all started with the idea of a G4 cube and lost interest...the Mini was months away and AFAICR not even mentioned in the press yet. Fast forward, there has been alot of work done in the MacCar community...not as much as Im sure we'd like but if we wanted something that easy, we'd go with a PC. :lol: And now Im prepared with everything in my life to get an apple computer in my Toyota Matrix.

Don't know how much of a worklog Im gonna have, or photos during the install, but I hope to have it all said and done before Xmass.

So far I've only RAAM-matted the doors and rear in preparation for redoing the audio source of the car...and on a side note RAAMat is super easy to install and well worth the investment...midrange is better than ever.

With all the components arriving this week or next it should be a fun couple of weeks...removing the seats and carpet, modding the center console to fit the hardware, etc.

Below is the proposed wiring diagram. Grayed out stuff is future ideas like the 2nd battery and DVD drive. I plan on running ICE3 most likely and iGuidance on VMWare. ODBII comes probably after the holidays.

Design looks good, now it's time to get dirty and install everything :)

12-03-2009, 08:29 AM

sdashiki

Luckily the speakers and all the wiring is already done. But since Ill be installing alot more wires and stuff, Im probably going to remove the seats and carpet to run everything cleaner. Right now the front crossovers are under the passenger seat floor up behind the glovebox. The rear crossovers are just laying under the backseat...they dont move on account of the foam tape!

Trying to fit the mini in the center console...no good. It wont fit sitting normal.

However, I can have it vertical in there...with the vents pointing down and the DVD slot pointing up. The only question is of heat. Would having it inside the solid plastic box (with holes in bottom for the wires) pointing down, be a bad thing?

For the moment, its going in the glovebox. But permanence in the center console would be nice.

12-17-2009, 09:06 AM

Machinehead

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdashiki

However, I can have it vertical in there...with the vents pointing down and the DVD slot pointing up. The only question is of heat. Would having it inside the solid plastic box (with holes in bottom for the wires) pointing down, be a bad thing?

I have mine mounted this way in my center console and I haven't had any heat related issues in over 2 years. I will open the top of the center console and point an A/C vent at it when the inside of my vehicle has been sitting out in the sun all day.

12-17-2009, 09:09 AM

sdashiki

The mini sucks air thru the bottom vents all around its base, and blows it out the back vent above the ports. Having the vent point down, heat rises, and the bottom (now the side) intake vents are pulling air thats inside the same plastic box (the center console)...thats my fear, a self-looping heat exchange or something.

12-17-2009, 09:21 AM

Machinehead

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdashiki

The mini sucks air thru the bottom vents all around its base, and blows it out the back vent above the ports. Having the vent point down, heat rises, and the bottom (now the side) intake vents are pulling air thats inside the same plastic box (the center console)...thats my fear, a self-looping heat exchange or something.

I cut a hole in the bottom of my center console to run the cables. The exhaust air gets blown down in to the area below the console. I'm sure some of that exhaust gets sucked back into the mini, but it hasn't caused any problems.